The Planet Internet Services
Encyclopedia
The Planet was a privately held dedicated server company based in Texas
. In May 2006, the company merged with Everyone's Internet, which used the EV1 Servers brand. In 2010, they merged with SoftLayer
. All services provided by both companies were then operated under the SoftLayer name.
Orbit was the main way customers knew they were dealing with The Planet as a company rather than with one of the different brands they operated. The Planet then sold servers almost exclusively through their website rather than different brands which had been unified into their website.
-based internet service provider
. It was formed on October 6, 1998 by Robert Marsh, Roy Marsh III, and Randy Williams. Its service was available nationwide.
Since 2000, Everyone's Internet's focus shifted toward Web hosting through its EV1 Servers subsidiary. This company was a dedicated server hosting market. At its peak in 2006, EV1 Servers hosted over 30,000 servers.
In May 2006, private equity firm GI Partners
bought a controlling investment in Everyone's Internet. At the same time, Everyone's Internet announced that it was merging with The Planet, in which GI Partners had invested.
The CEO of EV1 Servers was Doug Erwin, from GI Partners, after they gained control of EV1 Servers.
In October 2006, Everyone's Internet announced that it would stop providing dial-up Internet access starting November 12 and sold their dialup portion of the company to PeoplePC
, another dialup Internet service provider. Some users were upset because PeoplePC requires a dialer, which does not work on all operating systems, and therefore opted to move to other Internet service providers.
As of January 2007 the EV1 name was dropped following the merger of The Planet and EV1.
's alleged intellectual property, saying that it was looking to offer its customers stability in the wake of SCO's protracted battle with the open source community. However, the deal was perceived by Linux users as using a licensing deal to support SCO Group's lawsuit against Linux. On March 25, 2004, Netcraft
reported EV1 had lost 1,080 Web sites in the previous 30 days. Robert Marsh, CEO of Everyones Internet, said that although EV1 had lost some hosting business since the deal, it was not out of line with the number of sites EV1 loses in a typical month.
A Utah court document filed on April 5, 2006, revealed that Robert Marsh, co-founder and CEO of EV1, was misled by SCO's Philip Langer's claims when making the deal, and that EV1 paid $800,000 for the licence.
s Fast Growth 100 for 2007.
The Planet was named the No. 2 Best Web Hosting Company in 2008 and 2009 by the editors of HostReview.
In 2008, The Planet was named by the Houston Business Journal as the 13th-largest technology employer in the 10-county Houston area.
The Planet was named one of the top three managed hosting providers for June 2009 by Dedicated Server Directory UK.
The Planet was recognized as a "Hot Texas Company" for 2010 by Lead411.
On November 16, 2010, The Planet was rebranded SoftLayer as part of the merger.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. In May 2006, the company merged with Everyone's Internet, which used the EV1 Servers brand. In 2010, they merged with SoftLayer
SoftLayer
Founded in 2005, SoftLayer Technologies, Inc. is a dedicated server, managed hosting and cloud computing provider.-History:GI Partners acquired all of the equity in SoftLayer in August 2010....
. All services provided by both companies were then operated under the SoftLayer name.
History
The Planet's support system was called Orbit and was located at orbit.theplanet.com. Prior to the merger, The Planet operated under several different brands. They included: "Server Matrix", which served the low-price end of the market; "Total Control", which featured servers with complete remote control, such as Dell DRAC and Remote Console capabilities;Orbit was the main way customers knew they were dealing with The Planet as a company rather than with one of the different brands they operated. The Planet then sold servers almost exclusively through their website rather than different brands which had been unified into their website.
Everyone's Internet
Everyone's Internet was originally a Houston, TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
-based internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
. It was formed on October 6, 1998 by Robert Marsh, Roy Marsh III, and Randy Williams. Its service was available nationwide.
Since 2000, Everyone's Internet's focus shifted toward Web hosting through its EV1 Servers subsidiary. This company was a dedicated server hosting market. At its peak in 2006, EV1 Servers hosted over 30,000 servers.
In May 2006, private equity firm GI Partners
GI Partners
GI Partners L.P. is a private equity firm based in Menlo Park, California and London, England.- Description :...
bought a controlling investment in Everyone's Internet. At the same time, Everyone's Internet announced that it was merging with The Planet, in which GI Partners had invested.
The CEO of EV1 Servers was Doug Erwin, from GI Partners, after they gained control of EV1 Servers.
In October 2006, Everyone's Internet announced that it would stop providing dial-up Internet access starting November 12 and sold their dialup portion of the company to PeoplePC
PeoplePC
PeoplePC is an Internet service provider owned by EarthLink.PeoplePC was founded by Nick Grouf, Max Metral and David Waxman, and launched in the USA in October 1999...
, another dialup Internet service provider. Some users were upset because PeoplePC requires a dialer, which does not work on all operating systems, and therefore opted to move to other Internet service providers.
As of January 2007 the EV1 name was dropped following the merger of The Planet and EV1.
EV1 and SCO licensing controversy
On March 1, 2004, EV1Servers.Net announced it had licensed SCO GroupSCO Group
TSG Group, Inc. is a software company formerly called The SCO Group, Caldera Systems, and Caldera International. After acquiring the Santa Cruz Operation's Server Software and Services divisions, as well as UnixWare and OpenServer technologies, the company changed its focus to UNIX...
's alleged intellectual property, saying that it was looking to offer its customers stability in the wake of SCO's protracted battle with the open source community. However, the deal was perceived by Linux users as using a licensing deal to support SCO Group's lawsuit against Linux. On March 25, 2004, Netcraft
Netcraft
Netcraft is an Internet services company based in Bath, England.Netcraft provides web server and web hosting market-share analysis, including web server and operating system detection...
reported EV1 had lost 1,080 Web sites in the previous 30 days. Robert Marsh, CEO of Everyones Internet, said that although EV1 had lost some hosting business since the deal, it was not out of line with the number of sites EV1 loses in a typical month.
A Utah court document filed on April 5, 2006, revealed that Robert Marsh, co-founder and CEO of EV1, was misled by SCO's Philip Langer's claims when making the deal, and that EV1 paid $800,000 for the licence.
Awards
The Planet captured the #78 spot on CRNCRN Magazine
CRN was first launched as Computer Retail Week on June 7, 1982 as a magazine targeted to computer resellers - the same year that UK channel publication MicroScope Magazine was launched...
s Fast Growth 100 for 2007.
The Planet was named the No. 2 Best Web Hosting Company in 2008 and 2009 by the editors of HostReview.
In 2008, The Planet was named by the Houston Business Journal as the 13th-largest technology employer in the 10-county Houston area.
The Planet was named one of the top three managed hosting providers for June 2009 by Dedicated Server Directory UK.
The Planet was recognized as a "Hot Texas Company" for 2010 by Lead411.
Final merger
On November 10, 2010, GI Partners announced that the merger of The Planet and SoftLayer was effective.On November 16, 2010, The Planet was rebranded SoftLayer as part of the merger.